Letter file



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LETTER FILE.

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No. 515,052. Patented Feb. 20, 1894.

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LETTER FILE.

Patented Feb. 20, 1894.

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ARMIN KRAH, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

LETTER-Fl LE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 515,052, dated February 20,1894.

Application filed July 18,1893 Serial No. 480,860. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARMIN KRAH, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Files; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan showing the lettenfile closed. Fig; 3 is a vertical section showing the filing mechanism. Figs. 4 and 5 are horizontal sections of the mechanism, showing the file respectively open and closed; and Figs. 6 and 7 are horizontal sections representing a modification of my improved mechanism.

My invention relates to an improved letterfile which is provided with two pairs of wires on which the letters or the like can be passed or strung. Each pair of wires is secured to a separate rod arranged along the back .of the case, which is formed like a book-cover.

Each rod is adapted to be readily turned by hand, so that the wires may be readily opened or closed, according as it is desired to put the letters on, or to remove them from, the file. Or the wires may be arranged to close automatically, when the case or cover is closed by the user.

In carrying my said invention into practice I provide two pairs of arc-shaped wires or a and b b (Fig. 3), adapted to receive (in the well known manner) the letters or documents to be filed, each pair of which wires with their straight extensions 0 being secured to one of the bars or rods (1 and 2, extending along the back of the case or cover. These two rods dand e are arranged, in close proximity to each other, upon a sheet of metalf (Figs. 4 and 5), and are covered over by another sheet of metal g. The two sheets or plates f and g are secured to the inner side of the back It by screws or in any other suitable manner. At the part where the rods 6.! and e are situated, the upper or cover-plate g is bent or raised, so as to form a hinge-groove in which the rods may turn freely. At the parts where the wire-extensions are fixed to the rods d and e,

the cover-plate is perforated or slotted. The ends of the rods 01 and e are bent near the lower end of the back as shown at i t', and provided with enlargements or finger pieces is and Z. When the file is closed (Fig. 4), the bent portions 1' i closely adhere to the plate g, the said finger-pieces 7t and Z alone remaining in a raised position which enables them to be turned up with the finger or thumb of the user as indicated by arrows in Fig. 4. WVhen this is done, the position of the parts is such as illustrated in Fig. 5, the two wires a and I) being open so that the letters or papers, previouslyperforated, may be passed on to either pair of wires. If, after filing the letters, it is desired to close the file, the Wires are allowed to come together, either by depressing the finger-pieces 70 Z, or (and this is the simpler method of the two) by raising the covers m m of the case (Fig. 5), as though closing a book. The covers are thereby made to act upon the backs or angles of the arc-shaped wires or b and to move them into juxtaposition. To prevent the wires, when closed (Fig. 4),or as the file is opened, from moving apart of their own accord, I provide two studs 0r stops n n against which the bent portions 7; 11 of the rods d e will bear, owing to their resilient nature, until they are moved past the said stops by gentle pressure.

To afiord a sufficient support to the letters or the like, the wires or b are fitted at the ends of their arc-shaped portions with longitudinal plates 0 0 adapted to retain the letters or the like in position.

The two rods or pivots d e of the filing wires 0 b may, if preferred, be embedded within the back of the case or cover (as shown in Figs. 6 and 7) by which arrangement a material saving of available space may be effected. The screws for securing the two platesf and g forming the hinge are, in this case, inserted from the outside of the back (Figs. 6 and 7). The studs or stops n n for retaining the bent portions it and fingerpieces in position however, remain on the inside of the back. The difference between the two arrangements will be readily understood by comparing Figs. 4: and 6;

That I claim is 1. A letter-file comprising two pairs of filing Wires (a b) each pair being secured to one of a pair of rods or hinge pins (d e) extending along the back of the outer case or cover of the file,in close proximity to each other; each rod or pin being bent (as'at '6 i), and the bent portions being adapted, when the file is closed, to bear against stops (n n); the said bent portions being, moreover, provided with enlargements (as at 70 Z), which serve to facilitate the shifting of the wires from the closed position to the open position substantially as described.

2. A letter file comprising the cover and back, the two hinge pins or rods d, e extendthe ends of the hinge pins for operating the 20 same, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Berlin, this 23d day of June, 1893.

ARMIN "KRAI-I.

Witnesses ALFRED UNGAR, J. LEMAN. 

